150 passengers board train sans ticket as booking clerk sleeps

150 passengers board train sans ticket as booking clerk sleeps

 TIMES NEWS NETWORK  4.9.24 

Dehradun : In a bizarre incident, around 150 passengers were forced to board the weekly Ramnagar-Chandigarh superfast express train (12527) at the Ramnagar railway station in Nainital district, located adjacent to the Corbett National Park, without purchasing tickets as the ticket window clerk allegedly failed to wake up from his sleep. 

According to station superintendent Rajkumar, the incident occurred on Monday at 5 am, even as the train arrived at the station amidst the commotion. “The passengers began arriving at the railway station at 4am and queued up at the ticket window. When the window didn’t open even 30 minutes before the train’s departure, they started repeatedly knocking on the door, but the clerk, Ashvini Kumar, remained unresponsive. 

The other railway staff on duty also reached there upon hearing the commotion and knocked on the door, but it was locked from the inside,” Rajkumar said. He added, “It wasn’t until around 6 am, after the train had already left, that the clerk finally woke up. By then, the passengers had already left on the train without a ticket.” The station superintendent then informed the Izzatnagar division office of North Eastern Railways (NER) about the incident, requesting appropriate disciplinary action against the “negligent” clerk. 

Public relations officer (PRO) of North Eastern Railway’s (NER) Izzatnagar division, Rajendra Singh, said, “The accused booking clerk has been directed to report to the divisional officer and tender his explanation in the matter.” Chief PRO of NER, Sanjeev Sharma, told TOI, “The booking clerk, in his clarification, said that he was unwell, therefore, he couldn’t respond when the door was knocked.”